NEC 2090UXI sharpness setting

[Woodicus]

Hi,

Based on advice and commentary in various forums I have just purchased an NEC 2090uxi and initial impressions are very favourable.

I am about to have a serious go at sorting out my photo library.  Before I start I intend to use some sort of colour calibration software such as EyeOne Display 2 but notice that there are some monitor settings that probably do not relate to colour calibration. In particular sharpness: when I process photos I will need to sharpen them and will inevitably do so based on the onscreen image.

My problem arises in that I can make an image look as soft or sharp as I like on the 2090uxi screen by adjusting the sharpness setting however when I print or post images for others to view they will see something different -- if I have set my screen to too low a sharpness I will oversharpen and vice-versa if I have set it too high.  So my question is, has anyone an opinion on a sensible default sharpness level to use?

I have ended up at about 50% based on increasing sharpness until text loses its 'softness' but wonder if this is sensible.

This query presumablly affects all NEC screens with the sharpness setting such as the 2190 or 1990.

Any feedback you have would be much appreciated, I hope this is not a silly question but please put me right if it is.

Mike.

[David White]

i don't have any definitive or quantitave answer, but my 2190uxi has its sharpness set to 26.1% which may be the factory default.  On mine, everything is very sharp at that setting.  If you are trying to set sharpness based on text, and if it is a Windows system, make sure that you have ClearType turned on in your display properties, otherwise you will probably have to go too far with the monitor sharpness setting to make your fonts look good.

[Woodicus]

Many thanks for your comments.  Whilst not definiitive they were still very helpful as I wasn't aware of the ClearType feature in windows. Having set that I have now reverted to the factory default (26.1%) as you use and the pictures look fine as well as text being sharp.

I guess the acid test is to try and print some pictures having sharpened them on screen and check I am getting consistent and satisfactory results and if not toggle the sharpness setting from there.

Thanks again,

Mike.

[Nill Toulme]

Probably not terribly helpful, but FWIW... I've left the default sharpness setting alone and been perfectly happy with both viewing of images and text and also image editing/sharpening.  

I also tried turning on Cleartype and hated it... it looked to me like what happens to text when you set an LCD monitor to something other than its native resolution.

Nill
~~
www.toulme.net

[marc.s]

It's my understanding that one should not mess with sharpness on lcd displays if they're hooked up via DCI cables. As far as I know adjusting sharpness is only necessary when using analogue cables (as are some other adjustments).

Either way I use DCI, and I've left mine at default and the sharpness is one of the best things about switching to lcd for me, I find it very easy to judge..

I use cleartype, on most fonts and sizes it works well for me, it can also be adjusted for more or less smoothing to taste.

Btw, does anyone else have issues playing video in full screen mode? For some reason I can play it fine in a window, but in full screen I get very strong jittering for no apparent reason.